Laser Induced Selective Alignment of Water Spin Isomers

TL;DR

This paper explores how short laser pulses can selectively align water's ortho and para spin isomers, enabling targeted control of molecular orientation for potential applications in spectroscopy and quantum control.

Contribution

It introduces a method for selective alignment of water spin isomers using a pair of laser pulses, advancing control techniques in molecular physics.

Findings

Single laser pulse induces transient alignment and antialignment.

Pair of laser pulses enables selective alignment of one isomer.

Method offers potential for precise molecular control.

Abstract

We consider laser alignment of ortho and para spin isomers of water molecules by using strong and short off-resonance laser pulses. A single pulse is found to create a distinct transient alignment and antialignment of the isomeric species. We suggest selective alignment of one isomeric species (leaving the other species randomly aligned) by a pair of two laser pulses.